Offshore oil production in the Arctic has become economical due to the increased oil demand and the reduction of other reserves. If however oil spills occur during the production, combating the oil spillage has been found to be particularly problematic if the oil collects below the surface of the ice and is thus not directly accessible. Ice layers up to a certain thickness can be broken with ice breakers and the oil located therebelow can be combated by way of scooping up, flaring off or by way of the addition of oil decomposition products. The application of ice breakers however is no longer possible with ice layers of a greater thickness.